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With three major works of documentary photographs to his credit, Glenn Ruga of Concord has long been aware of the need for a virtual repository of similar exhibits that explore the human condition. His new website, socialdocumentary.net, provides a forum for photographers to post their work and viewers to learn about social issues worldwide.

Ruga, who is also a graphic and Web designer, has chronicled a Puerto Rican community in Holyoke, the struggle for a multicultural future in Bosnia, and the war and aftermath in Kosovo.

His website, which contains 115 online photography exhibits, features subjects as varied as forgiveness in war-torn Rwanda; religion in India and Tibet; racism in the United Kingdom; the effects of logging and industrialization on indigenous people and their reindeer herds in Finland; and ordinary Americans in Bennington, Vt.

In the long run, Ruga hopes socialdocumentary.net becomes a valued resource for viewers ranging from schoolchildren to policy makers - and inspiration for them to learn more about the world and change it.

"Words do a very good job at explaining issues, but images help us connect better with individuals," he said. "These photographs show the similarities of the human condition around the world."

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